[LinkedTV News] (English)

LinkedTV News

This application was conceived in the context of LinkedTV (linkedtv.eu) a European project with 12 international partners seeking to use semantic web technologies (such as automatic analysis of text or subtitles and recognition of names and faces) to meaningful link information from the Internet with television.

LinkedTV News is the practical application of these technologies. Its design is based on observed trends and requirements of users obtained through of user-centered design methodologies.

Linked TV News forms part of the so-called second screen applications. It is an application for digital tablets, which acts as a companion to newscasts viewers. Its main objective is to enrich the viewers’ experience by integrating information from television (main screen) with online media in real time.

LinkedTV News combines various activities related to acquiring information about the news in a single interactive experience designed for simultaneous use of multiple screens (one or more portable devices and the TV). This experience is also a potentially social and mobile experience.

In order to support the needs of different types of users and different TV viewing styles, LinkedTV News is designed to accommodate two modes in terms of interaction: a passive mode (lean back) and a mode active (lean forward).

In this mode, the application presents the user with additional summary information on key elements of the news, for example, basic information about organizations or persons involved. This occurs through an automatic slide show with short texts and images that complement the information which appears on the television screen. It is automatically synchronized with the TV, and requires no action by the user, but allows the user to navigate through the slides, save, share or add the news to “favorites” for further exploration if desired.

This display mode is “hands-free” and intends to be compatible with the relaxed experience, which is still the most common way of watching TV. The functionality of “bookmarking” favors an asynchronous mode of interaction that allows the postponement of activities that require greater attention to a more appropriate time.

Active mode

The active mode of application is designed for users who like to interact with handheld devices while watching TV, or for users who have added televised news to “favorites” can explore further.

In active mode, the user can explore specific news from different angles. This mode gives access to articles from the web that are related to the selected news according to 5 dimensions for exploration:

a) The news as it was presented by different sources (online newspapers, television, etc.)

b) The news through the opinion of different authors (journalists, writers, bloggers, etc.)

c) The news through feature articles

d) The news through a timeline of related events

e) The news via tweets of common people located in the area in which the event occurs or occurred. (Geo-located Tweets)

Other features of the application:

LinkedTV News provides television remote control functionalities so you can use the application to pause or navigate the TV show and to skip sections of news.

You can customize the application through preference settings, especially in terms of news sources you want to use and favorite categories.

LinkedTV news is based on semantic web technologies.

For an online version of the application go to:

http://linkedtv.project.cwi.nl/news/

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